Dental station and system for domestic animal dental care

Abstract

A dental station for improving domestic animal dental care and oral hygiene, dental station having a body including a supporting structure which includes a plurality of receiving holding formations to receive and support one or more of a plurality of preselected sized and shaped chewable food elements in a protruding manner.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A dental station for providing dental care to domestic animals, comprising:
 a body having a supporting structure including shaped walls configured to define one or more depots for access by the domestic animal, 
 each depot includes a plurality of holding formations configured to receive and support at least one chewable food element for access by the domestic animal for chewing, 
 wherein, the plurality of holding formations are located on the shaped walls of each depot and the at least one chewable food element extend from the shaped walls into the one or more depots from a predetermined direction and height within each depot is orientated to encourage the domestic animal to use a predetermined set of teeth to access the chewable food element such that to chew the chewable food elements in one of the one or more depots the domestic animal must utilize a different set of teeth than is required to chew the at least one chewable food element presented in at least one of the other depots and wherein the set of teeth used by the domestic animal to chew the chewable food element is cleaned during the chewing action at the depot. 
 
     
     
       2. A dental station according to  claim 1 , wherein the holding formations present the at least one chewable food element in a protruding manner to encourage use of a predetermined set of teeth of the domestic animal. 
     
     
       3. A dental station according to  claim 2 , wherein the predetermined set of teeth of the domestic animal includes at least one of canines, incisors, premolars and molars. 
     
     
       4. A dental station according to  claim 1 , wherein the chewable food elements are held proud of the shaped walls by the holding formations. 
     
     
       5. A dental station according to  claim 4 , wherein the chewable food elements is held proud of the shaped walls adjacent at least one protruding teeth engaging formation, wherein as the domestic animal chews the chewable food elements the protruding teeth engaging formation engage the teeth of the domestic animal in a cleaning manner. 
     
     
       6. A dental station according to  claim 5 , wherein the at least one protruding teeth engaging formation is resiliently flexible. 
     
     
       7. A dental station according to  claim 5 , wherein the at least one protruding teeth engaging formation are tentacle formations. 
     
     
       8. A dental station according to  claim 1 , wherein the supporting structure includes shaped floors configured to define the one or more depots for the domestic animal and the plurality of holding formations are located on the shaped floors. 
     
     
       9. A dental station according to  claim 8 , wherein the chewable food elements extend from the shaped floors into the one or more depots from a predetermined direction and height within the depot to encourage the domestic animal to use a predetermined set of teeth to access the chewable food element. 
     
     
       10. A dental station according to  claim 1 , wherein each depot has a plurality of holding formations provided therein to receive and hold a plurality of chewable food elements for access by the domestic animal. 
     
     
       11. A dental station according to  claim 1 , wherein the supporting structure has a plurality of depots with holding formations configured to receive and support one or more of a plurality of preselected sized and shaped chewable food elements in a protruding manner wherein the domestic animal can progress from depot to depot to achieve cleaning of different sets of particular teeth of the domestic animal.